Rand Wilson and Peter Olney respond to the many replies to their January 22 article.
We are indebted to the many Organizing Upgrade readers who responded thoughtfully to our article, A Labor Movement 2020 Election Strategy. Privately, we also received additional comments that were in the same constructive spirit.
Brothers Garver, Maki and Siegel contributed to the discussion on what the list of programmatic demands for labor unity should look like. As they know from their vast experience in the labor movement, achieving this unity will be a contentious and difficult process – with the need to agree to disagree on some points. Garver’s point emphasizing the importance of labor embracing the Green New Deal is crucial if we are to unite with a younger generation determined to meet the challenges of climate change. But care must be taken that any Green New Deal include strong provisions for a “just transition” to protect impacted workers – or the Deal is off for labor.
Brothers Eckstein and Berry zeroed in on how we reform the decision-making process inside our unions and prevent the AFL-CIO from making an early endorsement of a corporate candidate because the big affiliates get boisterous and throw their weight around. While Eckstein correctly points out that the “Bernie Six” (APWU, ATU, CWA, ILWU, NNU, UE) are not capable of wielding sufficient votes to prevent that on their own, they are capable of creating a political bloc that could move members, locals and regional bodies to oppose a rush to judgment. Similarly, that bloc could impact the internal decision-making process – which Berry is rightfully concerned about – by slowing any attempted hasty move and maximizing member involvement.